tem differret.”’, Ann., XII, 66) correspond to 4. phal- 
loides poisoning. (cf. Wasson, p. 120) 
3. In letter 95 of the Kpistulae Morales Ad Lucilium 
by Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Wasson sees an allusion to 
A. phalloides. (ef. Wasson, p. 121) 
According to the Latin dictionaries that we consulted, 
‘boletus’ designates an edible mushroom, ‘boleti’ thus 
designating the class of edible mushrooms. In addition, 
the word seems to have had a special meaning. Accord- 
ing to Menge-Giithling ‘boletus’ designates an edible 
mushroom, especially, however, a ‘‘Champignon”’ or a 
‘‘Kaiserschwamm’’. According to Kk. EK. Georges, ‘bole- 
tus’ is ‘*. . . die beste Art essbarer Pilzé; der Champig- 
non...’ R. Klotz says the word designates ‘‘. . . eine 
edle Sorte essbarer Pilze, Champignon:”* Harpers’ Latin 
Dictionary says: “‘boletus,i,m., = Badirns, the best kind 
of mushroom, .. .’’ Plinius, in his Naturalis Historia, 
mentions ‘boleti’. The text reads: 
‘“Inter ea quae temere manduntur et boletos merito posuerim, opimi 
quidem hos cibi, sed immenso exemplo in crimen adductos, veneno 
Tiberio Claudio principi per hane occasionem ab coniuge Agrippina 
dato, quo facto illa terris venenum alterum sibique ante omnes Nero- 
nem suum dedit.’’ (Plinius, Nat. Hist., XLVI, 92, p. 358, Loeb 
Classical Library ) 
‘* Among the things which it is at times dangerous to eat, I would 
include mushrooms; although they are rich food, they have been 
used in an outstanding crime, for it was on the occasion when a dish 
of mushrooms was served to him that a poison was administered to 
the Emperor Tiberius Claudius by his wife Agrippina. In doing so 
she bestowed upon the world and, above all, upon herself another 
poison—her son Nero.”’ (Transl. by Deltgen) (1) 
It is quite unlikely that Plinius speaks of poisonous 
mushrooms in the passage quoted above. Of these, he 
comes to speak only in the sentences following our quo- 
tation. This is why H. O. Lenz in his ‘‘Botanik der 
Griechen und Romer (chapter ‘‘Familie Schwamm- 
[ 214 | 
